Fugitive who escaped a Colorado prison in 2018 found in luxury Florida penthouse apartment
A man is in custody after he spent almost five years on the run following his escape from a Colorado Bureau of Prisons facility in 2018.
Allen Todd May, 58, was found in Florida and was arrested at approximately 11 p.m. Tuesday by Deputy U.S. Marshals from the Southern District of Florida and Task Force Officers from the Florida-Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force, according to a press release from the U.S. Marshals Service. He was wanted on charges of fraud and escape.
May was found at a residence in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in an area where many of the homes are valued at costing over $1 million.
May was sentenced in 2012
May was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on Feb. 10, 2012 after he was convicted of mail fraud in the Northern District of Texas. He was committed to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons for his sentence, where he spent nearly six years.
"On Jan. 12, 2018, May was transferred to the Federal Correctional Institute in Englewood, Colorado. On Dec. 21, 2018, BOP conducted a prisoner count during which May was discovered to be missing and issued an escape notice," the release said. "An escape warrant was subsequently obtained, and the U.S. Marshals have been actively searching for May since December 2018."
A federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court of Colorado also returned an indictment on June 22, 2022, that charged May with 10 counts of wire fraud and seven counts of mail fraud.
According to the indictment, May allegedly identified multiple business entities that had "owed unclaimed oil and gas royalties." He then filed fraudulent documents where he acted as the representative of those companies to claim both the oil and gas royalties for himself. This occurred while he was in prison from at least mid-2016 to late 2018, the release said.
"In total, May is believed to have obtained more than $700,000 in fraudulent claims during this time. In addition, May was indicted for the previous escape in 2018," it stated.
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U.S. Marshals Service issue statement asking for help
On Sept. 29, 2022, the U.S. Marshals Service put out a statement asking the public to help to locate May and included a potential reward totaling up to $5,000 for any information that helped lead to his capture.
After the release, the U.S. Marshals Service received numerous tips regarding May that resulted in investigators pursing leads in California, Wisconsin, Michigan, Texas, and Florida.
"One tipster, who chose to submit anonymously, began providing information to the U.S. Marshals in May about potential online profiles and websites which May was possibly using under the alias of 'Cary Bailey.' Investigators aggressively followed up on the information provided but were never able to pin down a location for May," it stated.
Anonymous tips lead to fugitive's capture
However, the same tipster provided a new tip and potential photo of May on July 25, which was published on the Palm Beach Daily News website. From this tip came new information, including a previously unknown alias that resulted in investigators finding a possible location for May in Palm Beach, Florida, at a penthouse apartment.
U.S. Marshals Service investigators in the Colorado Violent Offender Task Force then sent a lead to the U.S. Marshals in the Southern District of Florida on July 28 to "follow up" on their discoveries. Florida Deputy U.S. Marshals and Task Force Officers began surveillance on the apartment but saw nothing relating to May until Aug. 1.
"On Aug. 1, May’s suspected partner was observed leaving the Palm Beach apartment in a U-Haul rental truck. U.S. Marshals and TFOs followed the partner in the U-Haul almost 50 miles from Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale to an address of a new house not previously known to investigators," the release said. "The partner backed the U-Haul truck into the driveway of the home near East Cypress Creek Road and NE 18th Avenue in Fort Lauderdale."
The investigators then began surveillance at the Fort Lauderdale residence, where they saw who they thought was May. Both the Deputies and Task Force Officers on the investigation approached the house while movers were unloading the U-Haul truck and placed May into custody.
"Investigators were then able to confirm his identity as Allen Todd May. May was transported and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail. At his initial appearance on Aug 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, May was ordered detained and will be transported back to the District of Colorado to face charges," it stated.
District of Colorado U.S. Marshal Kirk Taylor thanked the anonymous tipster in the release, saying that their information helped lead investigators directly to May.
“I would also like to thank and recognize the incredible tenacity of the Deputy U.S. Marshals who pursued every lead over the years in the District of Colorado, culminating in the arrest in the Southern District of Florida last night. Their relentless pursuit of this fugitive and the coordination of the agencies involved is a true testament to the U.S. Marshals Service’s mission," Taylor said.
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